H.R.H. The Duke of Braganza

Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza was born on the 15th of May 1945. He is the 24th Duke of Braganza and the Successor to the Crown of Portugal. He is the son of Dom Duarte Nuno of Braganza and Dona Maria Francisca de Orleans e Braganza, Princess of Brazil.

The Duke of Braganza’s godparents were His Holiness Pope Pius XII and Her Majesty, Queen Amelia of Portugal, the wife of His Majesty King Carlos I of Portugal, assassinated by the republicans on the 1st of February 1908 and the mother of Dom Manuel II, the last reigning King of Portugal.
Titles and Official Styles
His Royal Highness, the Most Serene Lord, Duke of Braganza, of Guimarães and of Barcelos, Marquess of Vila Viçosa, Count of Arraiolos, of Ourém, of Barcelos, of Faria, of Neiva and of Guimarães, Sovereign of the Royal Order of Saint Isabel, Grand Master of the Order of Our Lady of Conception of Vila Viçosa and Grand Master by Birth of the Order of Saint Michael of the Wing and Judge of the Royal Brotherhood of
Saint Michael of the Wing.

Succession to the Crown of Portugal
On December 24, 1976 Dom Duarte’s father, Dom Duarte Nuno died. Dom Duarte Pio succeeded as claimant to the Portuguese throne, thus becoming the 24th Duke of Braganza.
Dom Duarte Pio is the closest male-line relative to Dom Manuel II, the last King of Portugal. There are closer female-line relatives (who according to the Constitutional Charter of 1826 have succession rights), but none of these has Portuguese Nationality (which was required by the Constitutional Charter for succession to the Throne); none of these female-line relatives makes any active claim to the throne.

The Succession as Head of the Royal House of Portugal happened as follows:

a. Dom Pedro IV of Portugal, I of Brazil and brother of Dom Miguel, abdicated the Throne.
b. Dona Maria II, next in line of succession, succeeded to the Crown of Portugal. This line maintained the Throne until the 5th of October 1910, the date the Republican Regime was implemented in Portugal.
c. Dom Manuel II, last reigning King of Portugal died in exile without issue or legitimate brothers or sisters (+ 2 July 1932).
d. The closest collateral line was that of Dom Miguel, brother of King Dom Pedro IV. Thus, Dom Miguel’s son, Miguel Maria de Assis Januario became the legitimate successor in the Royal House of Portugal, by succession mortis causa of King Manual II.
e. While in exile, Dom Duarte Nuno, only male descendant of Dom Miguell II (Miguel Maria de Assis Januario) succeeded his father.
f. Upon Dom Duarte Nuno’s death in 1976, his son Dom Duarte Pio succeeded as Head of the Royal House of Portugal.
g. Because some considered that the line of Dom Miguel in exile was excluded by the Constitution of 1838, Dom Miguel II (Miguel Maria de Assis Januario) and King Manuel II signed an agreement known as the Pact of Dover by which the King recognised the line of Dom Miguel as legitimate in the succession to the Crown of Portugal.
h. However, this pact was totally unnecessary, because the Republican Constitution of 1911 revoked the Legal Order of the Monarchy in its entirety.
The Assessment concludes that:
a. Notwithstanding Portugal being a Republic, the rights of succession as Head of the Royal House of Portugal continue to be governed by International Customary Law.
b. The Portuguese State recognises that, according to the aforementioned rules of succession, the Royal House of Braganza and its Head, Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza are the legitimate successors of the Kings of Portugal.

On the 13th of May 1995, Dom Duarte of Braganza married Dona Isabel Ines de Castro Curvelo de Heredia. The royal couple have three of a family; Dom Afonso of Braganza, Prince of Beira, Dona Maria Francisca, Infanta of Portugal and Dom Dinis, 4th Duke of Porto.

The Legal Assessment of the Department of Legal Affairs of the Portuguese Foreign Office, dated 17 April 2006, established the rules of succession according to Customary International Law and Portuguese Constitutional Law, namely the Constitutional Chart of 1826, which governed succession until the fall of the Monarchy in 1910.

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